Posted on 08/05/2008
Toronto’s own DJ/Producer DJ Nana has decided to let us in to the world inside his head, for the third time. The eighteen-track album, appropriately titled, The World Inside My Head, Vol. 3, is laced with ambient hip-hop, reggae, and African grooves (some with vocals, most without).

Nana’s intro is a brief dedication to all the listeners, music lovers, and innovators. His voice comes across raw, and you can even hear him brush against the microphone, in what I would imagine to be a basement studio. I like the unmixed quality of it, and even like the continuity between the intro and the first song, “Motorcity Vibin’,” a short, bass- heavy space funk. “Motorcity Vibin’” flows directly into “Sound is the Weapon,” a more mastered track, introduced by a barrage of sound bytes, and a driving snare drum. The Bside Playas then lay their heavy, and slightly dragging voices over the beat, dulling it a bit. Not necessarily because the Bside Playas are bad, but because the quality of the vocal recording taints the cleanness of the instrumental.

As a DJ/Producer, I like DJ Nana. I think he’s a solid maker of music, and shows glimpses of innovation. The biggest ill of this project is the one I just stated - that often times the vocals taint the otherwise strong instrumentals. There are instances when it works, like on “Simple Man,” featuring Lep Noel, as well as “1chill-earF.O.R.C.E.” featuring Luke F.O.R.C.E., but for the most part, the vocals fall flat. Luckily, most of The World Inside My Head, Vol. 3, is instrumental, which means, most of the album is pretty darn good.

- Jason Reynolds